The Woodcraft knife was added to their production line in 1914. Webster applied for the patent in 1915, and until 1916 the knives were stamped with PAT PEND.The patent was granted in 1916, and the rear ricasso was stamped Pat'd 1916 from 1916 until around 1925.
This knife is circa 1923-1925
Awesome, vintage Marbles, Made in Gladstone, USA, is a very high quality, fixed blade knife.
Leather handles are in good condition, has some wear.
Aluminum pommel and a small pommel nut.
Knife appears to be overtightened and has caused the leather discs to misalign.
Half guard has been bent upwards by a previous user
Blade is in great condition, some wear from use and sharpening.
A few small spots of discoloration.
small 3/8" pommel nut
3 line Marble's roller coaster stamp on the front ricasso, and Pat'd 1916 U.S.A. on the rear
Knife measures 8-5/16" long with a 4-9/32" blade (measured from the tip to the guard)
File thumb rest
A little history on Marbles:
Marbles was founded by Webster Marble in the early 1900's. Webster was a true innovator of his time, helping to shape the outdoorsman industry with his inventions. He oversaw quality control, and had very rigid standards, which made all of his products superior than any others on the market at the time.
A couple of his most famous inventions are the Safety Axe, (which allowed an outdoorsman to carry a hatchet/axe on his belt without injuring his body), and the waterproof match safe (which prevented matches from getting wet, and potentially saving the life of a cold and wet outdoorsman). He also patented the now famous handle pattern made with stacked leather discs.
Another invention was the IDEAL knife, created to suit the needs of Webster himself. This knife was strong, lightweight, and durable. Many have copied the design of this knife, but the quality of their copies had a lot to be desired.